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Search Search CSRC MENU Search Search Projects Publications Expand or Collapse Drafts for Public Comment All Public Drafts Final Pubs FIPS (standards) Special Publications (SP s ) IR (interagency/internal reports) CSWP (cybersecurity white papers) ITL Bulletins Project Descriptions Journal Articles Conference Papers Books Topics Expand or Collapse Security & Privacy Applications Technologies Sectors Laws & Regulations Activities & Products News & Updates Events Glossary About CSRC Expand or Collapse Computer Security Division Cryptographic Technology Software Security Group Hardware Security Group Security Engineering and Risk Management Applied Cybersecurity Division Cybersecurity and Privacy Applications National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Contact Us Information Technology Laboratory Computer Security Resource Center Publications NIST SP 800-70 Rev. 5 National Checklist Program for IT Products: Guidelines for Checklist Users and Developers Share to Facebook Share to X Share to LinkedIn Share ia Email Documentation Topics Date Published: May 2026 Supersedes: SP 800-70 Rev. 4 (02/15/2018) Planning Note ( 06/08/2026 ): The current version of the NIST SP800-70 revision 5 maintains language referencing FAR 39.101(c) (see pages 4 and 9). However, the current RFO deviation specifically excludes FAR 39.101(c). The FAR RFO final rule is undergoing review, and NIST will update the revision to correspond to any changes to FAR 39.101(c) once the rule is finalized. Note: the RFO companion guide (see page 98) provides readers with hyperlinks to NIST guidance and statutory requirements related to the acquisition of ICT. Author(s) Stephen Quinn (NIST) , Blair Heiserman (NIST) Abstract A security configuration checklist is a document that contains instructions, procedures, or machine-readable and executable content to configure an IT product to a specific risk posture for an operational environment, verify that the product has been configured properly, identify unauthorized configuration changes to the product, and/or produce artifacts that show the security posture of the product. Using these checklists can minimize the attack surface, reduce vulnerabilities, lessen the impact of successful attacks, and identify changes that might otherwise go undetected. NIST established the National Checklist Program (NCP) to facilitate the generation of security checklists from authoritative sources, centralize the location of checklists, and make checklists broadly accessible. This publication explains how to use the NCP to find and retrieve checklists and describes the policies, procedures, and general requirements for participation in the NCP. A security configuration checklist is a document that contains instructions, procedures, or machine-readable and executable content to configure an IT product to a specific risk posture for an operational environment, verify that the product has been configured properly, identify unauthorized... See full abstract A security configuration checklist is a document that contains instructions, procedures, or machine-readable and executable content to configure an IT product to a specific risk posture for an operational environment, verify that the product has been configured properly, identify unauthorized configuration changes to the product, and/or produce artifacts that show the security posture of the product. Using these checklists can minimize the attack surface, reduce vulnerabilities, lessen the impact of successful attacks, and identify changes that might otherwise go undetected. NIST established the National Checklist Program (NCP) to facilitate the generation of security checklists from authoritative sources, centralize the location of checklists, and make checklists broadly accessible. This publication explains how to use the NCP to find and retrieve checklists and describes the policies, procedures, and general requirements for participation in the NCP. Hide full abstract Keywords benchmark ; change detection ; checklist ; information security ; National Checklist Program (NCP) ; Security Automation ; secure configuration ; security configuration checklist ; Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP) ; software configuration ; vulnerability Control Families None selected Documentation Publication: https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-70r5 Download URL Supplemental Material: National Checklist Program Document History: 12/09/25: SP 800-70 Rev. 5 (Draft) 05/08/26: SP 800-70 Rev. 5 (Final) Topics Security and Privacy audit & accountability , configuration management , security automation , vulnerability management Technologies software & firmware Laws and Regulations Cyber Security R&D Act , Federal Information Security Modernization Act , OMB Circular A-130 HEADQUARTERS 100 Bureau Drive Gaithersburg, MD 20899 X (link is external) facebook (link is external) linkedin (link is external) instagram (link is external) youtube (link is external) rss govdelivery (link is external) Want updates about CSRC and our publications? 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